Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the following members:

• Councillor Fraser, substituted by Councillor Kennelly
• Councillor Ethapemi
• The Venerable Archdeacon Catherine Pickford
• Observer Jenny Cooper

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, the nature and existence of any relevant disclosable pecuniary or personal interests in the items on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

Personal interests were declared as follows:

Ø  Councillor Kennelly – employed at a Food Bank

Councillor Sheth highlighted that his register of interest could be found on the Brent website.

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 67.

There were no deputations received.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 July 2024 were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

There were no matters arising.

To present the Committee’s work programme for 2024-25.

The Committee noted the work programme.

To provide an overview of services for Brent’s children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Councillor Grahl (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Schools) introduced the report, which provided an overview of services for Brent’s children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and also highlighted the national context regarding the Council’s obligations towards children and young people with SEND. She raised awareness of the much greater level of need since the report was previously presented to the Committee in 2023-24, with the number of children on an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) rising by around 10% per year since 2014 and the figures in Brent also reflecting that increase. As a result of that increase, she advised the Committee that there had been pressures on Councils to assess each child and put in place the right package of support for them, but this had not been matched with provision of funding by central government. In July 2024, local authorities warned central government of a debt equating to approximately £5billion facing local authorities if the funding situation did not improve.

The Committee heard that, as well as an increase in need, the Council had also seen an increase in the complexity of need, with around 40% of children with an EHCP also having an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC). Councillor Grahl highlighted that, despite the challenges with funding and SEND demand, there were successes to be celebrated. For example, the report detailed the work the Council was doing to maximise the support available to children and young people with SEND, including both inclusive provision and specialist educational provision. A large part of the work in addressing the pressures was delivering the SEND capital programme which aimed to provide more than 400 local SEND places. There were some areas for improvement outlined in the report. For example, it was recognised that there was a gap for post-16 provision which the new post-16 skills and resource centre in Welsh Harp would help to address, and there was continued work to reduce the waiting times for families applying for an EHCP.

In concluding her introduction, Councillor Grahl recognised and paid tribute to Brent’s local schools, who she felt had stepped up provision and built additional support into their schools, whether that be through new buildings, additional staff, or improved institutional learning. She re-emphasised the acute pressures on the High Needs Block outlined in the report and the need for ongoing public pressure to ensure that every child with SEND received the vital support they needed.

The Chair invited Nigel Chapman (Corporate Director Children and Young People, Brent Council) to contribute to the introduction, who highlighted the Annual School Standards and Achievement Report that was presented to the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee in April 2024 for members who wished to see further details on the outcomes and attainment of children with SEND. Similarly, he highlighted the report and minutes of the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee that took place on 24 July 2024 where the department was scrutinised in relation to the High Needs Block  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To provide an overview of early years provision in Brent and an update on progress towards meeting the expansion of childcare entitlements.

Councillor Grahl (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools) introduced the report, which provided details about the rollout of expanded childcare entitlements within Brent and plans for the distribution of the capital grant allocation provided by the DfE, as well as the approach for delivering the requirement to have a wraparound offer for school-aged children to access childcare between 8am and 6pm during the school term. In introducing the report, she provided further context for why the report was being presented to the Committee, explaining that in the Spring Budget of March 2023, the previous government had announced a significant expansion of early years childcare entitlements and proposals for the development of a wraparound offer for school-aged children. The report outlined the borough-wide response to those new arrangements, which she highlighted were some of the most significant changes in childcare provision for a generation and provided an opportunity for local providers to step up their provision to support families in the early years.

In presenting the report, Councillor Grahl highlighted that the majority of early years provision in Brent was provided by independent nurseries or childminders, with the local authority playing an administrative support role. She advised the Committee that there was excellent provision on offer in Brent and drew attention to figure 3 of the report, which showed that Brent was well placed to meet the extra demand. She conveyed that the early years sector in Brent was strong, with 98% of childminders and 94% of PVI nurseries rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, and offered thanks to early years providers, noting the importance of the Council and its members fully understanding the contribution providers made to the borough.

In adding to the introduction of the report, Nigel Chapman (Corporate Director Children and Young People, Brent Council) explained that the paper was being brought to the Committee as there had been national interest in the expansion of provision, with media interest in certain areas of the country where parents had reported they had been unable to find childcare provision whilst the expansion had been ongoing, as well as some technical issues with DfE processing. He hoped the report offered reassurance about how Brent had prepared for the expansion and was supporting providers and the parent carer experience of finding an early years place. He acknowledged that the focus for the government had been on getting parents back in to work, but the sector and the Council were keen to use this as an opportunity to ensure there was a focus on good quality childcare and education in early years to set children up well for school and into adult life. He then introduced two colleagues present from the early years sector to tell the Committee about their experience in Brent – Wioletta Bura, a voluntary agency nursery manager, and Dorette Briscoe, an early years childminder.

The Chair welcomed Wioletta and Dorette to the meeting and invited them to share their experience of early years provision in Brent.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To present the Scrutiny Recommendations Tracker.

The Committee noted the recommendations tracker.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Deputy Director – Democratic Services or her representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 60.

None.